The Vampire Diaries - Stand by Me
by AkanshaVamp
Summary: This is a vampire diaries fan fiction. It's my first attempt in writing. I hope all TVDers enjoy it. I am currently working on other chapters. Please feel free to add suggestions/comments/notes below. Thankyou for reading. Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or any of the characters. The only thing that belongs to me is this story.
1. Chapter 1: GONE

Elena wakes up gasping for air as she sees Damon rushing towards her.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

Elena places her palm on her forehead trying to recall the last thing she had seen.

"I, um think. What happened?" She asks as she looks at him perplexedly.

"What's the last thing you can remember?"

Elena thinks hard franticly and suddenly bursts as images from the accident come to her in flashbacks,

"Oh my god! Is Matt okay? And where is Stefan?" Elena asks dreading to know the answer.

Damon freezes. Elena looks at him and raises her voice.

"Damon, please tell me Matt is okay?"

Damon moves closer to Elena who was almost on a verge of breakdown.

"Hey, its okay. Matt is just fine."

Elena sighs in relief. "Why do you look so worried then? And where is Stefan?"

Damon holds her hand. "Matt is perfectly fine but there is something that you should know."

Elena looks at Damon more confused than ever "What? Tell Me."

"First I need to know what's the last you can remember."

Elena gets agitated "I remember Matt driving and Rebekah took us by surprise at the Wikery Bridge and the car struck off the road. Stefan came to help us but I told him to take Matt..." She paused as she looked at Damon.

"What's the matter? Is there something more to the story?"

Damon looks away.

"Damon? You're freaking me out now. Where is Stefan?"

Damon was confused and shocked. "You don't remember anything? Nothing?"

Elena was losing her patience, as she couldn't understand what Damon is talking about.

"I told you whatever I remember, Damon. Will you stop with this and just tell me what's going on?"

Damon looks up to her as he starts to explain. "You were a Vampire, Elena. You woke up as one when Stefan let you go to save Matt."

Elena stared at Damon as she tried to register what she had just heard. "So, you're telling me that I am dead and that I am a vampire now?"

Damon nods. "No, you were one. For about 8months. You took the cure for Vampirism and now you don't..." He pauses, as he looks straight into Elena's teary eyes. "You don't remember being a vampire at all."

"Is this a joke? Where is Stefan, Damon? I need to see him. NOW!" Elena exclaims in her high-pitched and near hysterical voice.

Damon keeps quiet.

"Damon?" Elena starts to walk swiftly towards the door to lookout for Stefan downstairs.

Damon uses his vampire speed to get on her way and stops her.

As she looks into his eyes with the hope of getting answers, Damon feels chocked with emotions.

He clears his throat as he starts to explain. "In order to get you the cure, he did whatever he could and,"

"And? What Damon?" Elena hesitantly asks.

Damon looks away as he could not face Elena while breaking the news "he sacrificed himself to get you the cure."

Her blood chilled in her veins. Blackness slowly replaces her eyes.

Elena pulls back as tears roll down her cheeks. "What do you mean he...? I can't... " She breaks down as she falls over the floor.

Damon wipes his teary eyes as he bends over to comfort Elena.


	2. Chapter 2: HOPE

The silence in the Salvatore boarding house was deafening. Elena was sitting numb on the couch. You could tell from her eyes and face that she had wept for hours. She was now aware that she had indeed lost everyone from her family. From her parents to her aunt Jenna and now her little brother Jeremy. It was all like a nightmare for her. A nightmare she wanted to wake up from, to a perfect Sunday morning with her parents and Jeremy as aunt Jenna came to visit them. It was all gone. Everything. As memories from the past came in rushing, the sound of the coffee mug that Damon just kept on the table next to her shook Elena up to the reality. This was indeed a nightmare, a nightmare she had to live through.

"Have some coffee, Elena. Please."

Damon had been there with her all along, filling her up with all that she was unable to recall in the last 8 months. He saw her die inside each time a little more than before, as the story progressed. He felt a strong urge to compel her to keep her calm and lessen her pain but he didn't. He had lost his brother too and he knew it would be unfair.

"Thank you. But I just want to go hom..." She stops, takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Her mind was blank, as numb as the rest of her body.

"You don't need to get so harsh on yourself, Elena. As a vampire, your emotions were heightened. Grief was like death for you. You burnt the house down for a reason; besides this is your house remember? Stefan and I gave this to you to keep you protected from Klaus."

"Stefan." Elena suddenly opens her eyes. She shook herself out of her stupor as she spoke up. It appeared as if his name was the only thing that had caught her attention.

It wasn't long before she realized she was awkwardly staring right into Damon's eyes. She looks away at the coffee mug. "I mean um, I was wondering if we could go to the cemetery today? To see him."

Damon pouts. "Yeah, of course. Maybe after you get some rest."

"I want to go now. I want to see Jeremy too."

"Elena, I think you should first…"

"Please."

After a brief pause, Damon sighs.

"Okay. Fine. I will drive you there now."

xxx

As they were walking, Elena had a slight smirk on her face.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Elena nods. "Its just…funny how Stefan first befriended me here. Right here, in a cemetery."

"Yeah. That kind of a first acquaintance nobody can really forget." Damon says trying to lift Elena's mood up. Elena stares at him. "I'm just kidding. Its this way."

As they move closer to Stefan's grave, they see Caroline with flowers.

"Hey, Care. I didn't expect to see you here."

Caroline keeps the flowers on Stefan's grave and wipes her tears with her handkerchief.

"Yeah. Well, he saved my vampire life and when you both were going through some bad spots in your relationship, Tyler was away. He will always be my best friend." She pauses and looks at the bold carvings on the grave – **STEFAN SALVATORE: BROTHER AND FRIEND.**

"He did tell me once I reminded him of an old friend of his."

Elena smiled. "Yeah, Lexi."

Caroline forced a smile on her face even as tears rolled down her cheek.

"Caroline, I don't remember any part of me being a vampire but I'm really very sorry for whatever I have put you all through."

"Yeah, I know. Damon kept us all updated. Its good have you back, Elena." Caroline leans over to hug Elena.

Damon was lost in his thoughts. He was reminiscing about the time he had spent with his little brother.

"Hey! Damon? Are you okay?" Caroline asks genuinely concerned.

"Yeah. I think we should give Elena sometime alone. And then we could go see Jeremy. Okay?"

Elena agreed.

xxx

As Caroline and Damon walk away, she clears her throat trying to start a conversation with Damon.

"So how are you dealing with this?"

"I'm not. I just don't want to think about this whole thing for a while." Damon says as he takes a sip of Bourbon from his hipflask.

Caroline steps in front of Damon. "Damon, you can't do this to yourself. Look, I never really liked you."

Damon smirks "Is this supposed to be a pep talk?"

"No, not really. I know Stefan and you have fought most of your lives but I also know you both loved each other. Damon, you haven't really spoken to anyone ever since… Stefan died. And now you're putting a brave face on for Elena. Its just…"

"What? Sad? Selfish? Not cool? Well, Caroline I don't know if you have noticed the good brother is gone!"

"No, I think it's not fair on you. And don't start with this Good and Bad brother talk. Damon, I just wanted you to know if you need to talk to me about this you can. That's all."

"Thanks but no thanks. I prefer talking to witch instead."

"Bonnie."

"Yup." Damon rolls his eyes up as he takes another sip.

"No Damon, I mean look, Bonnie!"

They see a brunette rushing towards them from a distance.

"Why does she look so hassled?"

"There is only one way to find out." Damon looks at Caroline as they used their Vampire speed to get to Bonnie.

"Hey! Bon? Are you alright?" Caroline asks.

Bonnie was taken by surprise. "You guys." She sighs in relief.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Matt told me you guys would be here. I could not wait to talk to you both and Elena. So I came. Where is she anyway?"

"We thought we should give her some time alone. What's the matter?"

"Caroline, I think there is still hope." Bonnie smiles.

"Hope? Hope for what?" Damon agitatedly intrudes.

"Lets hear her out Damon. Shall we?"

"There is a way to get Jeremy and Stefan both back."

"Really?" Caroline asks excitedly "But how?"

"I will explain. Lets just wait till Elena comes, okay?"

"No way. She has been through enough already. I don't want her to build up hopes over some witchy experiment of yours, Bonnie. Leave her out of this." Damon jumps into the conversation.

"Well, obviously Bonnie has thought this through, Damon. Elena deserves to hear every part of this as much as you do." Caroline speaks up as she defends Bonnie.

"But…"

"Please, Damon. Let her just talk to Elena. If Elena decides not be a part of this then I'm sure Bonnie will back off."

Bonnie looks at Damon. "I know and understand why you're concerned but I need her to listen to me."

Damon reluctantly agrees.

xxx

They walk up to Elena and see her in deep contemplation, standing right where they had left her.

"Elena?" Bonnie's voice shakes her up. The painful thoughts flew away, and she realizes her cheeks were wet from tears. She quickly wipes them away. "Hi. Here to see Jeremy? Is it?"

"Actually…No. I came here because I wanted to talk to you urgently."

"Yeah, sure. What's going on?"

As Bonnie was starting to explain, Damon interrupts.

"Elena, just remember you're under no pressure. This is completely your decision."

Elena was more confused than ever. "Decision? What Decision?"

"The decision of whether you want to bring Jeremy and Stefan back?" Bonnie says as she walks closer next to Elena.

"What? I don't understand?"

"You know I have done this before. I did it even when the witches from the other side were not helping me. But now they are."

Elena was blank; Damon looked the least amused while Caroline had no control over her excitement.

"Oh my god! Really? How did this happen, Bon?"

"Well, the witches from the other side tried to converse with me. They told me they were willing to help bring Jeremy and Stefan back. An…"

"Well, That's it? That's your big plan, witchy? They tell you they will help you and you agreed? What about the consequences? There are always consequences! They are screwing with your head. Besides who knows in bringing them back how many more people will we have to come here to visit?" Damon asks furiously.

"What else have we left to lose, Damon? There is still Hope. It's worth giving a shot. What do you think Elena?" Caroline asks.

Elena was standing there in silence, thoughts running around her head.

"I warned you not to bring her into this…." Damon argues.

"What were you going to do, Damon? Not tell Elena there is a way to bring her brother back? How can you after all that she has been through still not let her take her own decisions?" Caroline retaliates with a louder voice.

"How about because I want to keep her alive…"

"She isn't quite alive without Jer…" Bonnie yells back at Damon.

As Caroline, Bonnie and Damon start to argue on top of their voices, Elena seemed to have lost her way into their conversation. The world spun around her. Everything was happening to fast for her to keep up with.

Their voices were fading out.

She started blankly walking away..

"Guys… Guys!" Caroline cried louder to get Bonnie and Damon's attention. "Look" directing her eyes towards Elena.

"See, what you have done?" Damon continued to rant.

Caroline gives Damon a bad stare indicating him to stop fighting.

"Elena… Wait. We're sorry. I just wanted to…" Bonnie says as she rushes towards her.

Elena stops and turns to them. "Right now, I just want to go home."

"Great! Me too. Come, let's leave." Damon says as he walks swiftly towards her.

"No, Damon. I want to be alone for a while. Please. I will go on my own."

"Lets cut her some slack." Caroline whispers to Damon as she catches his arms to stop him from arguing with Elena over driving her home.

"Sure." Damon says forcing a smile.

xxx

Tears built up in Elena's eyes as she walks into Stefan's room. She opens his closet and wears his favorite black V-neck t-shirt as it still smells of him.

She sits on his study table and flicks through his diary.

She reads how each day of her being a vampire was a challenge for their relationship. How Stefan gave her Lapis Lazuli ring and how she couldn't keep down animal blood and later lost control; how the sire bond affected her relationship and they broke up. How Stefan helped Jeremy kill more vampires to grow the map to the cure and when he died as a hunter, she gave up her humanity. She read every detail till how they had to fight against Silas for the cure.

She relived the pain and misery she felt when Damon narrated her the story.

She knew she wanted to bring Stefan and Jeremy back but she knew it was not going to be easy. There would be consequences. The rational part of her mind was telling her that something was wrong, that she shouldn't undo the past. She cannot bring back the dead. These things have failed before and she couldn't afford to loose last of her few friends.

It was not worth it. Or was it?

She finally made up her mind.

xxx

This is chapter 2 of my first fan fiction! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please review it as it keeps me motivated to write more chapters.

What do you think Elena should do? Will Damon be happy with her decision? Why do you think witches on the other side are willing to help Bonnie bring Jeremy and Stefan back? Send me your point of view! Thankyou for reading.


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